On tap for November

PRESTO ON TTC

PRESTO completed a major system upgrade this month in preparation for the smart card’s debut on the new accessible streetcars on Spadina starting in November.

With just a tap of a card, PRESTO payment is increasingly providing a seamless way to pay to get on all the transit properties (including GO) across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area and the city of Ottawa.

The TTC continues to work with Metrolinx to expand PRESTO use across the system. The PRESTO electronic fare collection system is currently available at 14 stations: Kipling, Islington, Downsview, Finch, Don Mills, Yorkdale, York Mills, St George, Queen’s Park, St Patrick, Union, Dundas, College and Bloor-Yonge.

PRESTO technology is coming to the TTC in multiple phases, beginning with card readers and PRESTO fare/transfer machines on board the first 50 accessible streetcars going into service on the Spadina, Bathurst, Harbourfront and Dundas routes. Those same vending machines will be located on the street at the busiest locations along each route.

The PRESTO rollout will also extend to a dozen more stations: Spadina, Bathurst, Dundas West, Osgoode, St Andrew, King, Queen, Scarborough Centre, Sheppard-Yonge, Broadview, Museum and Davisville. The TTC is scheduled to have a total of 26 PRESTO-equipped stations by early 2016.

Subsequent phases will see the balance of the streetcar fleet, all TTC and Wheel-Trans buses and the remainder of subway stations PRESTO-equipped. Metrolinx is aiming to have the PRESTO system fully implemented across the TTC system by mid-2017. Ultimately, PRESTO will replace all of the TTC’s existing fare media (tickets, tokens and passes).

When fully deployed the TTC will be the largest transit system in Canada using PRESTO, with more than 10,000 devices on more than 1,900 vehicles and in 75 subway stations (including the Spadina Extension).

The TTC and Metrolinx signed a master agreement to supply the PRESTO smart card technology across the system in November 2012.